Improvement in nail-plate feeders



Patented Nov. 16,1875.

G. H. RYAN. NAIL-PLATE FEEDER.

N. PETERS, PHOTO-LITHQGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. n. c.

W/TNfSSfS UNITED STATES GEORGE H. RYAN, OF SOMERSET, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JOB M. LEONARD, OF SAME PLAOE.

PATENT OFFICE IMPROVEMENT IN NAIL-PLATE FEEDERS.

- Specification forming part of Letters Patent N o. 170,] 18, datedNovember 16, 1875; application filed June 28, 1875.

To an whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE H, RYAN, ofSomerset, in the county of Bristol and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented new and usefulImprovements in Nail-Plate-FeedingMachines, ofwhich the following is -a specification:

- This invention pertains to mechanism, in machines for making nails, bywhich to feed a nail-plate forward, from time to time, to cutterssuitably located and arranged with reference thereto, for being cut bysaid cutters into nails.

In the present arrangement of mechanism for the purpose stated, thenail-plate is fed regularly from time to time through a nosepiece to theplane of operation of the cutters, and this nose-piece, carrying with itthe nailplate, is reciprocally rotated about its axis in the same linewith the direction of feed of the nail-plate, and also, together withits appendages for feeding the nail-plate through it and forreciprocally rotating it and the nail-plate, is moved toward and awayfrom the plane of operation of the cutters, lowering as it moves towardand rising as it moves away.

As to the several movements-that is to say, the forward feed of thenail-plate, the reciprocal rotation of the nose-piece, the travel of thenose-piece toward and away from the cutters, and the rise and fall ofthe nose-piecethis invention consists in a novel arrangement andcombination of mechanism hereinafter particularly described, by whichthe construction and arrangement of such mechanism necessary for suchpurposes is greatly simplified and otherwise improved, and the operationand movement thereof made the more accurate, perfect, regular, andsteady, as will readily appear from the description thereof hereinaftergiven.

In the accompanying plate of drawings the present improvements innail-plate-feeding mechanism are illustrated, Figure 1 being a sideelevation; Fig. 2, a plan or top view; Fig. 3, a vertical cross-sectionin plane of line a: m, Fig. 1; and Fig. 4,a view of the feed-stem ofnail-plate in longitudinal cross-section.

In the drawings, A represents a bed-piece,

which stands upon three legs, B B B, and carries the several stationaryand working parts of the mechanism embraced in the invention; 0, avertical pinion-wheel arranged to turn on a journal, a, of the fixedpost D of the bed-, piece A; and E, an eccentric wheel, which is fixedto and turns with pinion-wheel 0 when strap-G to a lever-arm, J, andconnects the strap thereto by a pivot-joint, c. The leverarm'J extendsfrom the eccentric rod H horizontally under the bed A, and is fastenedby a set-screw to a transverse horizontal shaft, K, arranged to turn invertical parallel bracket-pieces K K fixed to and projecting downwardlyfrom the bed-piece A. L, an arm, fastened by its curved part M with aset-screw, f, to the shaft K, hereinbefore referred to. The arm Lcarries the nose-piece N, also the device for feeding the nail-platethrough the nose-piece, and also the device for reciprocally rotatingthe nose-piece, all as will be presently described. The nose-piece N,exteriorly, for apart of its length, is cylindrically shaped, and isarranged and confined within a bear-1 ingblock, O, on the upper face ofthe arm L, to be rotated about its longitudinal axis, and to be held onthe arm against movement oth erwise. The nose P of the nose-piece N isto ward the plane of operation of the cutters of a nail-cutting machine,which are located at Q, and the nose is shaped as ordinarily-that,

is, by correspondingly tapering the nose on its two outer and oppositesides, g and h, and by forming an inner passage, R, from end to.

end-which, in part, is tubular, and in part at the point j of the nose]?shaped to embrace the sides and edges of the nail-plate A and hold saidplate in the line of the longitudinal axis of the nose-piece N. l l, aseries of tapering sockets in and around the periphery of dollar mofnose-piece N. These sockets are arranged at equal distancesapart, andwith them interlock tapering pins n, which are arranged in the arc of acircle at corresponding equal distances .apart on the face 0 of an arm,S, arranged vertically at one side of' the nosepiece, and to turn on apin, 1), thatis concentrio with the arc of the said pins n, and is fixedto the upright post q of the arm L carrying nose-piece N. T, a rod,pivoted at one end to arc pin-gear S, above described, and at the otherend to one'end of a beam or lever arm U, which lever is hun g on afulcrum, r, of and under the bed-piece, and is pivoted to the lower endof a pitman-rod, V, that is hung eccentrically by a pivot, s, to agear-wheel, W, gearing into the pinion-wheel O, hereinbefore referredto.

The nail-plate A is secured to a loose sleeve, t, which is at one end ofa stem or rod, 20. The stem u is the feed-stem for the nail-plate, andfor a portion of its length is surfaced with 1 rubber o, w, and a), twospirally grooved or corrugated friction drums or pulleys. Thesecorrugated drums to and :r bear peripherally against the rubber 'u ofthe stem u, and their journals turn in a common bearing-plate, y, of thearm L, and their bearings in said plate are inclined, so as to bring theaxis of both drums w and m at an angle to the axial line of thefeed-stem u-that is, obtuse below said axial line, and at the sidetoward the entering end of the nose-piece-for the nail-plate A Thecorrugated drums w and a; are of different diameters, and are arrangedon their bearing-plate g on opposite sides of the feed-stem u, with thelarger drum to somewhat in advancethat is, located nearer the nose-pieceN than the smaller drum or; y, a ratchetwheel secured to journal oflarger corrugated drum w,- and z, a spring-pawl carried by a rod, a",arranged to move through ear-piece b at one side of the arm L; c", aspiral spring surrounding a portion of pawl-rod a", whereon it isarranged, and with a bearing against one of the guides b to press therod a in a direction to carry its spring-pawl z backward over the teethof the ratchet-wheel y; f", an abutment, secured by slot and set-screwto the bed-piece, in position to act against the forward end of thepawl-rod a".

The mechanism constructed and arranged as hereinabove described, withpower suitably applied to the pinion-wheel O, operates, through theeccentric strap G and rod H and lever J, connecting the rod H to thecarrierarm L, for nose-piece N to move the nose-piece toward and awayfrom the plane Q of operation of the cutters, and, by the swing of saidcarrier-arm L as it moves the nose-piece in the first direction, tolower the projection of nail-plate at its nose front P to thecuttingedge of the lower knife, and, as it moves the nose-piece in thesecond direction, to raise the nose-piece from the said cutting-edge,and again through the gear-wheel W, pitman V, rocking beam or leverU,'and the rod T, connecting said lever U with the arc pin-gear S, torock said pin-gear S, and thus, by its interlock with the sockets Z l ofthe nose-piece, to reciprocally rotate the nose-piece about itslongitudinal axis through one hundred and eighty degrees of a circle.

For these several movements of the nosepiece the mechanism hereindescribed, by which they are produced, is arranged to secure each .andall at the proper timesrelatively to each other and to the operation ofthe nail-cutters, all as is well known without further explanation, andto bring the nailplate into the position for the proper cutting of nailsfrom said plate as it is fed forward through the nose-piece N. The feedof the said nail-plate A through the nosepiece N is produced by the pushof the abutment f on the pawl-rod a as the nose-carrier swings to wardthe plane of the operation of the cutters, which causes the pawl-z topartially turn the ratchet-wheel y, and thus the larger-corrugated wheelw, carrying forward the feed-stem u of the nail-plate. The spring-pawl 2moves back over the ratchet-teeth under the action of the spiral spring0 while the nose-carrier N is swinging away from the plane ofoperation'of. the cutters, and thus it is made ready for another forwardfeed of the nailplate, as above described. The inclination of the axisof the. corrugated feed-drums w and a: to the axis of the feed-stem ofnail-plate causes the nail-plate, where it projects at the nose 1? ofthe nose-piece N, to be drawn and held firmly in its position on thelower knife-edge, thereby securing a better cut of the plate by thecutter. Placing one and the larger feed-drum w of the two drums to and xin the forward position de-' scribed, causes the nail-plate to be forcedsidewise .up and against the side guard 1* of the bed-piece, justforward of the nose-piece, which tends to secure a better cut of theplate by the cutters. The gear of tapering pins 40., and thecorresponding gear of tapering sockets l for driving the nose-piece N,as described, secures a most perfect and uniform movement to the'nose-piece, and' use has demonstrated such gears to work in a muchbetter and more perfect manner than gears of ordinary and common shape.

The operating mechanism for a nail-plate feed herein described is, as isplain from an inspection of the drawings, substantially in the lowerportion of the machine, and thus out of the way for a free access tothose parts which it is most desirable to reach.

To readily tip the nose-piece away from the cutters in case it should bedesirable, the arm L carrying the nose-piece is fitted loosely on itsshaft K, so that by loosening the set-screw f, which fastens it to thesaid shaft K, it, with the nose-piece N, can be swung back to take thenose-piece away from the cutters, as, for instance, as shown in Fig. 1by dotted lines. The attachment of the nail-plate to its feedstem to,through a loose sleeve, t, allows the nail-plate to be rotated with thenose-piece N Without rotating the feed-stem u proper. m",

a roller on'nose-carrier arm L, for supporting the feed-sten1 u at therear of the feed-drums 'w and w. This roller is conical, and it isarranged so that the feed-stem u can ride over it along its length underthe lateral action of the feed-drums w and a: on the feed-stein u.

The elastic surface 12, between feed-stem u and its operating feed-gearsw and as, prevents slip between the gears w and a; and the stem, andalso secures a better hold of the gears on the stem to feed it forwardas the gears are operated, as described.

Having now described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the eccentric E, strap and rod G H, lever J,rock-shaft K, setscrew f, and arm L, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

GEO. H. RYAN.

Witnesses:

EDWIN W. BROWN, GEo. H. EARL.

